Many people believe they will stick to a decision that they know to be right. However, whether pressure from the boss and work colleagues, family or friends, Solomon Asch indicates that when people find themselves in the minority, they more often than not question the decision they’ve made. In today’s society it’s important to do one’s research, come to a conclusion and be ready to stick to it, even when others disagree or oppose.
Three Lines on a Card
Asch carried out a classic experiment with groups of 7 – 9 college students. On one card he had provided an image of a line. On the second card, three lines of varying sizes were provided, lettered A, B and C. The challenge was to compare the line on the first card with the second card, and state which number it most correlated with.
In each group of students, all but one was informed of Asch’s reasoning behind the experiment. He directed two thirds of the groups to incorrectly identify which line they felt corresponded with the line shown on the first card.
Questioning Judgement Under Pressure
Asch’s experiment showed that when the uninformed student was able to make a decision and it didn’t conflict with what the others in the group thought, they judged correctly. The same correct judgement was made in the other groups, but the majority of individuals when finding that their answer didn’t match the rest of the group, questioned themselves and changed their mind.
Asch aptly demonstrated how someone who has made the correct decision or judgement about something can be wavered by the majority – even when they are wrong. There were some who made a decision about the line and when confronted with the rest of the group disagreeing, they stuck to their initial decision. Asch noted however, that those who did were particularly uncomfortable with the fact that their decision didn’t match the rest of the group.
He further discovered that those who stuck with their initial decision experienced higher levels of anxiety during the experiment than those who made the correct judgement and then changed due to group peer pressure. Carried out in these small groups over several hundred students, Asch consistently demonstrated how much others' opinions or decisions can affect one person in such a way that they make an incorrect judgement.
This experiment wasn’t time consuming and the decision made by the students wouldn’t result in any long term negative impacts. However, such a simple experiment indicated how easily people can be swayed from what they believe to be correct.
In society, pressures can be that much more, with decisions having future implications. People should be allowed to change their mind and decide on a different answer. However, it’s worth any person seriously considering why they have made a decision and being willing to stick to it if necessary.
Source
- Moral Issues in Business, Shaw, W. H., Barry, V., Sansbury, G. London: Cengage, 2009.
Chris Thomas - C. Thomas has studied and worked with horses since 2001. She teaches horse studies part time and is undertaking an Equine Science ...
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